Beyond the Chess Basics is the next step in learning to play better chess games.  Advanced Tactics include things like Pins, Forks, Skewers, Discovered Attacks and Sacrifices.  Each of these elements takes away some of the freedom of choice in which move your opponent can make next.  These are threats that must be dealt with.  To ignore them is to increase the likeihood you will lose material and potentially the game. 

Advanced Chess Tactics

     Using Advanced Tactics in your chess games gets easier as you play more.  Chess is like a game of windows and doors of opportunity constantly opening and closing.  Sometimes the window is only open for a move or two, then your opponent notices the threat, and closes it.  Other times, usually against less experienced players it is left open like a door, for many moves a piece may be left hanging, open to capture, often at no cost.  You must learn to see these patterns as they bubble up in the game.

Pins

     Pins happen when one piece, a long range weapon like a Queen, Rook or Bishop, "pins" a piece of lesser value, like a knight, bishop, pawn to a piece of greater value like a queen, rook, or the king.  This means, if the opponents piece moves, you can capture the piece behind it.  Except for the king!  If a piece is pinned to the king, it cannot move until the king moves off the line of attack, or another piece steps into the line of fire.

Forks

     Forks mean that one of your piece is attacking more than one piece at a time.  A knight might "fork" or attack both the king and a rook at the same time.  When you use a forking attack with check on the king, your opponent must deal with the check first.  this usually means the other attacked piece will be captured on the next move.  You can also use the forking attack to threaten a Queen or Rook, while at the same time forking a pawn or bishop.  Your opponent must deal with saving the Queen at the price of losing the bishop to the fork Attack. 

Skewers

     Skewers happen when you attack a more valuable piece, while a less valuable piece sets behind it.  this forces the valuable piece to move off the line of attack, allowing you to capture the piece behind it.  You might "Skewer" a Rook to a knight with your Bishop, forcing the Rook to move out of the way so you can then capture the knight behind it.  Sometimes for free, sometimes in trade.

Discovered Attacks

     Discovered Attacks can be the most creative and devastating of all attacks.  Like a lightening bolt out of nowhere, the pop up and take the breath away from your opponent.  This usually takes two or three moves to set-up.  A piece that seemingly is little or no threat, like a bishop or a knight, quietly moves onto a rank or file that favors a rook or queen attack.  Then a queen or rook move onto the line behind it.  The trap is set!

     When the time is just right, when your opponent moves an undefended queen or bishop onto that rank or file, your knight suddenly moves out of the way, usually with check or an attack on a piece of greater value than the one in the sites of the discovered attack.  When your opponent moves the more valuable piece, you can usually capture the piece subjected to the discovered attack.

     Discovered Attacks are very effective when used against a king, while the blocking piece goes off to capture a queen or a rook.

Sacrifices

     Sacrifices are the trickiest Advanced Tactic to master.  It entails giving up a piece or pawn.  Usually for free.  It has the most risk because you are giving up material.  Sometimes you do this to bring a king out into the open to subject him to attacks that often lead to checkmate, or to lead one of your opponent"s power pieces away from the battle.  Sometimes it is to clear a path for a pawn threatenung to promote.  Whatever the reason, you must have a clear plan before you venture down this path.

Combinations

     Just like in boxing, Combinations are using two or more of your pieces together to attack a pice sitting on a battle square.  Often you will here a chess player say, "I looked three moves ahead, and I realized if I took his pawn with my bishop, he would have to take back with his rook because his king was in check and couldn't move with his queen next to the king, and I took the rook with my queen and it was checkmate, because with my knight protecting the queen, he couldn't take back with the king!

     That is a three-move Combination Attack, using three pieces, a bishop, a queen, and a knight together.

Conclusions

     Advanced Tactics are an element of chess that can only come from study and practice.  Without study, you can't know what a tactic is.  Without practice, you cannot learn how to maneuver your opponent into tactical situations.  The more you practice, against a human opponent, or computer program, the more you realize many chess games get to a point where moves are "forced" upon the opponent.  This means you are giving your opponent fewer options.  You control the game.